Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse signals a major shift in the U.S. regulatory environment, estimating a 90% probability that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) will be passed by the end of April.

Cryptocurrency

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to manage approximately $85 billion in assets despite the sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $104.99 million, marking a return to outflows after just one trading day of net inflows.

The U.S. government’s strategic Bitcoin reserve, created last year, has lost approximately $5 billion as a result of the sharp downturn in the cryptocurrency market.

According to Peter Schiff, U.S. authorities are misallocating capital and resources by focusing on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies instead of developing domestic industry and strategic reserves.

The survey was conducted among 619 legal entities engaged in offline and e-commerce, the hospitality industry, luxury goods retail, and digital gaming. Nearly nine out of ten respondents (88%) reported customer requests to enable payment for goods and services using digital assets. More than two thirds of those surveyed (69%) said customers make such requests frequently — at least once a month.

China enforces some of the strictest cryptocurrency laws in the world, banning public trading, the issuance of new coins, and mining. Nevertheless, state-controlled bitcoin holdings have grown to the point where they could soon surpass those of the United States.

Cryptocurrency tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar could cause an outflow of around $500 billion in deposits from American banks by the end of 2028, Reuters reports, citing calculations by Standard Chartered. This forecast could intensify the confrontation between the banking sector and crypto companies over legislation regulating digital assets.

The drop in hashrate was caused by a winter storm across the United States. The natural phenomenon was marked by freezing rain that led to power line outages, snow, and strong wind gusts. Currently, more than one million households in the U.S. are without electricity. The weather affected power generation, which resulted in miners being shut down, TheMinerMag reports.

Other

U.S. senators have prepared more than 75 amendments to the cryptocurrency market structure bill ahead of key hearings at the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. The amendments cover more than 100 issues and were submitted by both Democrats and Republicans. Debate and voting are scheduled for this week.

Following the decision by the U.S. financial regulator, Zcash surged in price. As of 9:35 p.m. Moscow time on Wednesday, January 14, the token reached $438, gaining more than 12% on the day.

The American cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has listed Binance Coin (BNB). The altcoin is now available for trading and custody for users in the United States on a regulated platform. This is an important milestone for BNB, as Gemini is known for its cautious approach to adding new assets, especially in the United States.

In January 2023, officials of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) prohibited federal banks and regional uninsured banks from providing services related to digital assets, citing the high risks posed by virtual currencies. However, nearly three years later, officials decided to abolish this restriction, allegedly due to the progress achieved in the development of cryptocurrency products and services.

Visa Inc has taken another step in promoting stablecoins by launching USDC settlements in the United States. This means that U.S. issuers and acquiring partners can now settle transactions with Visa in USDC issued by Circle, a dollar-pegged stablecoin.

Texas is moving closer to creating the first state-level crypto reserve in the United States. Last week, Texas invested $5 million into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). This allocation is not a direct purchase of Bitcoin: the ETF was chosen as a temporary instrument while the state finalizes its custodian contract and the process of acquiring digital assets. The investment is part of the development of the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The cryptocurrency market has entered a new phase: U.S. banks have received regulatory approval to custody Ethereum. Although this step was anticipated, few believed it would happen so quickly. It marks an important turning point: traditional finance is beginning to adopt blockchain innovation rather than resisting it.